PICO RIVERA – Gangs or tagging crews were behind rash of recent street robberies in which young victims were tracked while walking down the street and then robbed of their cell phones and iPods, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday.

Eight such robberies – including one in which robbers brandished a gun – occurred between August and October, prompting deputies to conduct surveillance operations and extra patrols in one section of Pico Rivera.

That month-long operation resulted in 10 arrests, and deputies recovered an iPod, an MP3 player and two cell phones, said Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Gerardo Lucio, who heads the Problem Specific Policing Team.

Several of those arrested are members of a Pico Rivera gang, or tagging crews affiliated with that gang, he said.

“They all hang around the 5400 block of Rosemead Boulevard, in front of the apartment buildings,” Lucio said.

The robbers would target young people talking on cell phones or listening to their iPods while walking on the street, he said.

“They had an easy view of people walking on the street. We think it’s a group of friends who hung out in this area and who decided to take advantage of people not paying attention.”

Deputies believe three people they have identified as suspects in the robberies remain at large.

The robberies happened on Rosemead Boulevard and Mines Avenue, near Smith Park, 6016 Rosemead Blvd., and extended down Rosemead Boulevard and Havenwood Drive, according to Lucio.

The robbers used pretty much the same method each time. Usually, two suspects would approach the victim and demand money or the iPod or the phone.

“We did have a little trend going,” said Sgt. Rich Hernandez, adding that officials at first thought one suspect was behind the robberies, before deputies ended up making several arrests.

The suspects were arrested at different times.

Booked on suspicion of robbery were a 14-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl, and a 16-year-old girl, all of Pico Rivera, and a 15-year-old Rosemead boy, officials said.

Also booked were Marco Chavez, 22, and Andrew Moreno, 21, of Pico Rivera.

Chavez is posted a $50,000 bond and was released. He has a Dec. 1 court date at Whittier Superior Court.

Deputies didn’t know if Moreno is a gang member. He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear Nov. 23 in Downey Superior Court, according to sheriff’s booking records.

Three of the teens are being held at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. Lucio didn’t know if the 17-year-old boy and the 15-year-old girl were still in custody.

A 15-year-old Pico Rivera teen was also arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property when deputies found him with a cell phone that turned out to have been stolen from a local student.

Another suspect, 21-year-old Colleen Lopez of Pico Rivera, was arrested on suspicion of identity theft and receiving stolen property.

Deputies said she was found with someone else’s credit card and was recorded on a store surveillance video using the card to buy items. She is being held at the Century Regional Detention Facility without bail. She returns to Norwalk Superior Court on Nov. 22.

The 15-year-old Rosemead teen is suspected of two robberies. Along with an accomplice, he allegedly took an iPod from a pedestrian on Sept. 20. The victim was robbed and gun point and pistol-whipped, Lucio said.

He said the teen and another suspect were arrested Oct. 28, after a group robbed a 19-year-old man of his MP3 play at 5430 Rosemead Blvd.

Ruby Gonzales started working for the company in 1991. Since then she has written about cities, school districts, crimes, cold cases, courts, the San Gabriel River, local history, anime, insects, forensics and the early days of the Internet when people still referred to it as the "information superhighway." Her current beat includes breaking news, crimes and courts for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star News and Whittier Daily News. When not in crime reporter mode, she frequents the remaining bookstores in the San Gabriel Valley, haunts craft stores or gets dragged to eateries by a relative who is a foodie.